Friday, March 15, 2024
After breakfast we loaded our bus to head to Vienna, Austria! We crossed from the Pest side to the Buda side and headed to the freeway. Hungary had a national holiday, it was the 1848 Revolution Memorial day. This Revolution failed but it was closely linked to Hungary’s modern history. Hungarians rallied against the Austrian empire.
Since it was a holiday many people were heading out of town for a long weekend. Today was Revolution Day. The revolution began in Hungary on March 15th, 1848. With the Russian army invading Hungary, the revolution was defeated but it still was an important date for the Hungarian people.
The freeway traffic was bumper to bumper. Our guide and driver heard the Hungary and Austrian border crossing was really backed up so we crossed into Slovakia and then drove into the country and saw its capital city, Bratislava.
When we arrived in Vienna it was lunch time. We had lunch at a restaurant called Leopold. Unfortunately as we sat down one of our travelers fell backward and cut the back of her head. She was checked out at a local hospital and joined us that evening with stitches in the back of her head. Luckily she was able to continue on the trip.
As we were driving in the bus we saw trees with what looked like “balls” of something in them. Our guide told us it was mistletoe! It was a parasitic plant that took water and mineral salts from the woody part of the trees.
We past by one of the German’s Flak Towers that was still standing. It was used by the German Luftwaffe to help protect the city. It was a large above-ground anti-aircraft gun blockhouse tower constructed by the Nazis. It also served as an air-raid shelter.
We passed by the Vindobona which was once a Roman military camp and settlement. It had strategic value because of its location near the Danube river.
We had a step-on guide who pointed out sights as we drove to our drop off point near the city center.
We walked around the city center. The Burgtheater was built between 1874-1888. It was the most important German language theater and was still an important theater worldwide.
Our group had a reservation at the beautiful Café Landtmann. In 2023 the café celebrated its 150 years of operation. One of their most famous customers was the psychoanalyst, Sigmund Freud.
After our afternoon dessert we walked through the Volksgarten a large garden which was located on the Hofburg grounds. Volksgarten means “the people’s garden” and it was the first public garden in Vienna.
Our walk continued past the Hofburg Palace, the Imperial Palace. It was the residence of the imperial family and was located in the center of Vienna and now served as the workplace and home of the President of Austria.
We walked past the Stallburg Imperial Stables. Some of the Spanish Riding school Lipizzaner horses were sticking their heads out of their stalls.
This monument on Morzinplatz to the victims of Nazi terror was erected by concentration camp survivors in 1951. It was then replaced in 1985 with a bigger monument that Vienna paid for. Its granite blocks came from the quarry of a former concentration camp. It had a bronze statue that symbolized a survivor.
The Pestsäule Plague Column was erected in 1690 after the Great Plague and was located in the inner city of Vienna.
Vienna’s City Hall was built between 1872 and 1883. It was built in the gothic style and its tower was similar to gothic cathedrals. Now the head office of Vienna’s municipal administration works here.
The Church of St. Michael was one of the oldest churches in Vienna. It was located across from the St. Michael’s Gate at the Hofburg Palace. This church was over 800 years old!
St. Stephen’s Cathedral was our last stop today. Construction began in the 12th century but most of what we saw was from the 14th century. This church also was the site for many imperial weddings and royal funerals. Tomorrow we would visit again.
It was a long day so when we returned to the hotel we decided to share a bottle of wine and ate a bowl of delicious soup!
